7 Gifts For Men You Thought Were Great (But Aren’t)

If you’re looking to give a great gift to an important guy in your life, then consider what the best presents for men might actually be.

Every woman I know seems to have a closet or cabinet full of various bath products, lotions, and perfumes… Most of which are unused.

In a similar way, there are presents that men often receive that, while well-intentioned, will go unopened or unused.

The items below made my list of things people often buy for someone when they aren’t sure what a good gift would be. They are the “safe” options… You know.. The ones that line the aisles of big box stores this time of year.

Most of these aren’t what I consider to be “bad gifts”, and for the right guy, some of these might even be great! However, for most guys, these gifts end up leading an unfulfilled life in a closet, forgotten shortly after they are received.

The List

1. Grooming Kit
Lining the gift isles right now are little boxes of grooming supplies that guys are supposed to love. There are usually nail clippers, a razor, a file, tweezers, and some scissor-looking things that, honestly, I’m not really sure what they’re for. This isn’t really the kind of thing making men’s wish lists. And, we probably already have this area covered. We might like it, but the odds are that it will go unused.

2. Gag Gift
As much as we appreciate the humor associated with receiving a Shake Weight or some nice handerpants, it also suggests that perhaps you don’t take the recipient seriously. After all, what’s supposed to happen after Christmas? Am I obligated to hang onto this unicorn meat forever, or can I just throw it away?

3. Tie
For the right guy, ties might be great. However, these days few men wear a tie every day, and of those that do, have ties that coordinated with the rest of their wardrobes. That means a lot of men will have a surplus of ties, and yours has a good chance of hanging out in the closet, never seeing the light of day.

4. Wallet
Men love having a nice wallet. The thing about nice wallets is they last a long time. Once we’ve found one that we like, it’s probably going to see daily action for years to come. This means, men often receive a lot more wallets than they will ever use, and often the one we end up using we found for ourselves, anyway.

5. Random Tools or Gadgets
Sure, we tend to like things that require power and come with warning labels, but if the widget came from SkyMall or Sharper Image, you might be better off just going with a gift card. The nose hair trimmers, remote key finders, and motorized grill brushes aren’t for most of us.

6. Hobby-related Novelty Gift
It’s easy to be pigeon-holed into one area. When your family notices that you have a particular hobby or, perhaps have a favorite sports team, they try to do well by giving you anything they can find that is somehow related. This can result in a tidal wave of random items that happen to have a sports logo stamped on them.

7. Watch
As with most of the items on this list, a watch isn’t necessarily a bad choice for a gift… But, like wallets, most of us prefer to pick out our own watches. And recent studies have suggested that not as many people are wearing watches as in previous times. I suggest if the guy on your list does wear a watch, determine whether it’s for function or fashion, and choose appropriately.